ORIGIN

BaT Event Coverage: 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show

We were thrilled to be back this year for the 14th annual Japanese Classic Car Show. JCCS features an eclectic mix of Japanese classics – cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, race cars, scooters – from the ’50s through the ’90s. It is an unpretentious show and we appreciate that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. A wide variety of cars in various condition are welcomed on the lawn – stock, modified, restored, driven, they are all there and a pleasure to see. The diversity is what makes this event so special, seeing a row of Mazda RX-3s staged near a Honda Monkey after perusing the MK4 Supras is a unique experience to say the least.

The venue was new for this year and attendance was stellar, with a big crowd arriving in the morning and steady traffic through the late afternoon. Our tent was stacked with gear, staff, and a steady flow of enthusiastic attendees – all eager to chat about the event, cars, and BaT. We were in theme at the tent as well, with the 15k-mile Celica All-Trac (link) drawing a crowd throughout the day. Longterm user gshiwota’s 6-Speed Legend Coupe (link) was staged just beside the tent and had its own fair share of attention throughout the day, too.

Among our favorites were a pair of early Skylines and the C110 was in fact a right-hand drive conversion. We enjoyed a healthy debate with a couple BaT regulars on the virtues of the Hakosuka Skyline vs its successor, the “Kenmari.” Of course, it ended with nothing definitive – we were in agreement that the C10 has nicer proportions and acknowledged that the later car created an icon with those wonderful four round taillights.

A few of the other major highlights for us were user mmalamut’s left hand drive Toyota Sport 800…

…Mazda’s epic 787 and….

…of course the LHD 2000GT.

Japanese trucks, a favorite of ours, are renowned for their quality and reliability and it is no surprise that they were excellently represented here. There was a good showing of the full-sized Japanese trucks one would expect to see, including an FJ62 with sharp paint and a solid body (what more could you want of a Land Cruiser?) and a very nice imported Nissan Safari. There was no shortage of mini-trucks either: we loved the white B120 Sunny and we were glad to see a Suzuki Jimny in great shape. Though, the pristine blue early ’80s Toyota Pickup is the truck we wanted to take home.

One of the coolest aspects of the show was the van scene. The highlight of this was this Honda Life, a sore reminder of how we have been deprived of such neat Kei vans here in the US.

The attendees this year were thankful for the new larger space and so were we! Not only did it mean more room for more great cars, but it also allowed for more space between them, making for an easier time getting the right shots.

Honda emblems on a US NSX? Our staff remains divided on that, but there is unanimous support for these cars in white.

Motorcycles are undeniably an essential part of Japanese automative history and an essential part of JCCS, too. It was great to see the spread of bikes on the law with their range of colorful graphics. The Malbaro-livery Yamaha is the bike that won us over and made us think twice about tossing on the matching Shoei helmet to reenact the heydays of Wayne Rainey.

The only tragedy of the show was learning that a Motocompo has no chance of fitting in the trunk of an NSX.

Thanks again to all the BaT members and fresh faces who stopped by the BaT tent, JCCS is truly an incredible event with incredible people. We can’t wait for next year!